Weekend showers dampen Palm Beach; forecasters say more to come

A few isolated showers swept in from the Atlantic across coastal Palm Beach County this morning, bringing 0.14 of an inch of rain to Palm Beach near the Par 3 Golf Course. And forecasters seem to agree there’s more on the way.

The rain threatened to break a two-week dry spell at Palm Beach International Airport, where prior to this weekend no measurable rain had been recorded since March 27. But long-range forecast models continue to suggest wet weather for South Florida through the remainder of April and into the first part of May.

NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center has never wavered in its projection of above-normal precipitation in April. The monthly outlook issued March 31 showed wet weather blanketing the Southeastern U.S. and the entire State of Florida from the panhandle down to the Keys. The latest 14-day forecast continues to bring above-normal rainfall to Florida and the Eastern U.S. while keeping California dry.

AccuWeather’s Brett Anderson released his interpretation Friday of the long-range European forecast model. It suggests a wet pattern for most of Florida through May 10 while the West remains stubbornly warm and dry.

Is any of this wetter weather reflected in the National Weather Service’s seven-day local forecast? Yes and no. Rain chances in Palm Beach hover around 20 percent through the weekend and rise to 30 percent toward the end of next week. Forecasters say sea breezes will set up on both the East Coast and West Coast, and rain chances are greatest where the two meet over interior and western parts of the peninsula.

How much rain the East Coast may see remains a question mark. The Weather Prediction Center, which is charged with estimating rainfall a week in advance, hints at maybe a quarter- to a half-inch of rain in the Palm Beach area through next Saturday. Much of the U.S. Southeast is expected to get walloped, with more than 5 inches of rain forecast from eastern Texas northeast through Louisiana and Atlanta.

Hefty amounts are also forecast for the Florida panhandle with decent precipitation in North Florida and down into the Orlando area — perhaps up to 2 inches. But as usual, forecast rainfall wanes as you look to the south with only a tenth of an inch showing up for parts of the far southern peninsula.

April rainfall deficits so far around the state include: 1.35 inches at PBIA; 0.89 of an inch in Miami; 1.09 inches in Fort Lauderdale; 0.57 of an inch in Key West; 0.36 of an inch in Fort Pierce; 1.00 inch in Vero Beach; 1.02 inches in Orlando; 1.32 inches in Tampa; 0.54 of an inch in Fort Myers; 0.38 of an inch in Jacksonville; and 1.20 inches in Tallahassee.

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TEMPS EDGING UP: Friday’s high was 86 at PBIA; it was 82 in Palm Beach. There were a few low-90s around Lake Okeechobee and the South Florida interior and some mid-90s in eastern Collier County. That includes a high of 95 near the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge north of Alligator Alley, east of Naples. Statewide, Orlando hit 90 on Friday and Winter Haven reached 92.